A farmer’s son, a boy who wanted to drop out of military school among NDA medalists

Anni’s father, Havildar Devinder Nehra (Retd) said, “I remember him calling me in 2016. He said the training at Military School had been tough and he wanted to come home. I told him I understand what he was going through. While I was prepared to bring him home, I tried to convince him to continue and try harder. I am happy he did that.” Anni said, “I had seen my father and grandfather in Army uniform. That remained the constant source of inspiration for me as I keep pushing myself.”

Battalion Cadet Captain Shobhit Gupta, who won the prestigious President’s Gold Medal for standing first in the overall order of merit, is the son of a farmer. “As a farmer, I have tilled the land and I have seen many harvests in my life. This harvest, seeing my son win a gold medal has been most rewarding of all. What more can I ask from the God,” said Shobhit’s father Ravindra Gupta. Shobhit also topped the Science stream in the NDA and hails from Bareilly in Uttar Pradesh.

A total of 1,265 cadets took part in the parade of which 337 cadets were from the passing out course. The passing out cadets included 199 Army cadets, 38 naval cadets and 100 Air Force cadets. This number also included 19 cadets from friendly foreign countries including Bhutan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, Myanmar and Maldives. A contingent of 24 female cadets, presently in their third and fourth term of training also took part in the parade as part of the marching contingent.

Battalion Cadet Captain (BCC) Shobhit Gupta won the President’s Gold Medal for standing first in the overall order of merit, Academy Cadet Adjutant (ACA) Manik Turan won the President’s Silver Medal for standing second in the overall order of merit and BCC Anni Nehra won the President’s Bronze Medal for standing third in the overall order of merit. Golf Squadron bagged the prestigious ‘Chiefs of Staff Banner’, for being the Champion Squadron which was presented during the parade.

Cadet Manik’s father is retired Naib Subedar from the Army’s Education Corps and later served as a teacher in Haryana. “I believe that training at the NDA is all about pushing one’s boundaries. Every time you feel that you have reached your limit, but then you push yourself mentally, physically to overcome bigger challenge,” he said.